


the adventures of raising catherine

by aestheticrobin



Category: Artemis: Requiem (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Children, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parenthood, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:28:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26131933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aestheticrobin/pseuds/aestheticrobin
Summary: “ – can me hold red baby please?– of course, big guy. meet catherine. ”– in which jason and artemis unexpectedly become parents and have to learn how to raise a baby from day to night
Relationships: Artemis of Bana-Mighdall/Jason Todd
Comments: 39
Kudos: 79





	1. 1: meeting the bats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason heads over to the Manor to let part of the family meet the newest addition to the group (featuring Bruce, Alfred, Barbara and Dick).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> due to my readers' request and my ao3 stats, i decided to make this book of random domestic parents!jaytemis because you all seem to like my stories where i write them as parents ,, (and also because we lack of domestic content about them)
> 
> for this first chapter, i went with a request from ArtemisMay to continue my story "(no) sweet dream" for jaytemis week, along with an adaptation of SaraLi's suggestion of jason introducing catherine to those four specific elements of the family. it's a bit short and sloppy, but i ran out of inspo so ,, enjoy!

A baby.

That was what Jason held in his arms, wrapped in a fluffy blanket, when he stepped inside the Manor. Everyone was confused, to say the least.

What was Jason Todd doing there, holding a baby?

"What?" asked Jason as he noticed four curious - and bewildered - pairs of eyes on him.

"Welcome, Jason" said Bruce. "May I ask you what you bring in there?"

"Oh!" he said, moving his hand to adjust the blanket so that the baby's face was now clearly seen. "This is my daughter, Catherine. Meet your granddaughter, old man!"

Everyone present in the room was dumbfounded, so much that Alfred almost dropped one of his finest china tea cups. 

"Granddaughter?" Barbara was the first to break the silence. "Since when do you have a baby?"

"Well, since..." he stopped for a second to count to himself. "... around four months ago. She was premature, so we had to spend a while at the hospital"

"But, wait a second" Dick stood in. "How? Did you pull a Bruce and adopt her? Or did you-..."

"Don't tell me you cheated on Artemis" Barbara cut in after connecting the dots. "Jason Peter Todd, I am warning you-..."

"Hey, will you please calm down?!" asked Jason. "I will clarify everything, if you let me explain, but don't you want to meet her first?"

Barbara was the first, wheeling herself closer to the tall young man and holding her arms out for him to give her the baby. The woman was in complete awe after finally taking a proper look at the partially sleeping girl. She was such an adorable baby, so tiny that she was almost lost in the thick blanket protecting her from the raging cold winter that fell over Gotham.

"Wow... She's so beautiful" Babs said, moving a hand to gently caress the girl's cheek.

"I never thought you could make such a beautiful baby, Little Wing" Dick joked as he approached and bent over Barbara's shoulder to take a look at the new family member. "Mar'i will be so thrilled to hear that she has a cousin"

"I don't know where my niece got such beauty from either, she must have pulled it all from Kory" Jason joked back, not holding back a proud smile on his face as he watched the scene in front of them.

"Hey Alfred, wanna hold her?" asked Dick as he watched the butler approach to take a proper look at the baby after a while, not even waiting for his reply to take her from Barbara's arms and placing her on Alfred's.

Alfred joined them, standing next to Jason and not being able to hold back the wide grin plastered on his face as Catherine reached to hold the butler's hand when he adjusted her blanket. Jason could even swear he saw a tear rolling down the old man's face. Wrapping his arm around Alfred's shoulders, Jason joined him in staring at his daughter.

"I must confess, master Jason" Alfred began. "This was most unexpected from you. I never thought you would show up to our door with a baby like that"

"To be honest, Alfie" said Jason. "neither did I"

After a little while, Alfred handed Catherine back to her father, who noticed there was still one person left for her to be introduced to: Bruce.

He stood there watching from afar, waiting for his turn. Jason looked at him, watching how he admired the tiny human being in his arms.

He then decided to approach Bruce and finally hand him his granddaughter, earning a slightly surprised reaction from the man.

"What's the matter, old man? Forgot how to hold a baby?" Jason didn't miss a chance to tease him. "It's been a few years since Mar'i was born, and age makes you forget how to do things"

"No, Jason, I didn't forget how to hold a baby" Bruce took the opportunity to tease him back. "But you definitely forgot to inform everyone you had a daughter"

"Don't flatter yourselves" said Jason. "She forgot to inform me about her existence too"

Everyone looked at him with a raised brow, and then Jason realized he still had an explanation to give to them about how he became a father seemingly from day to night.

"Guess I owe you all an explanation, huh?" everyone agreed.

"Well, no, I didn't adopt Catherine. She is very much my biological daughter..." he began. "And Artemis' too, in case it wasn't noticeable enough by the hair"

"But... how?" Dick asked. "Everytime I saw you, Outlaws, working out there, she had never looked pregnant"

"True, she never did. In fact, we never knew she was pregnant until pumpkin decided to come out" explained Jason. "Something wasn't right with Artemis on that night, and you know that when an amazon isn't feeling well, then it's some serious shi-... I mean, issue"

"So, we headed to the hospital and found out she had been pregnant all alone and that Catherine decided to be born a month earlier than supposed to" he continued. "It was a shock to everyone, and I didn't think it could ever happen, I thought it was just some stupid joke from the doctor. But it did happen, and now I have pumpkin"

It was a big bomb to drop on them, it's true. Usually, you just turn to your friends and family and say "surprise, I'm pregnant!" and they have a whole 9 months to prepare themselves and accept the fact that a new family member is coming, but this time none of that happened. Jason just showed up to their door with a baby in his arms, leaving them to process it in a matter of minutes.

Jason discreetly looked to Bruce who wasn't very engaged in hearing his explanation of Catherine's existence - he still caught up the most important bits -, because he was too busy admiring and stroking the sleeping girl's cheek with his finger. He could even see a smile on the older man's lips as he analyzed every feature of his youngest granddaughter.

"That explains why she's still so tiny" added Barbara.

"But she is very strong, however" said Alfred. "That young girl has some tight grip"

"She's technically an Amazon, so I wouldn't expect less" Dick spoke. "You all know the same happened with Mar'i, she kept tugging hard on Kory's hair at any time"

"That little girl of yours had a thing over my white streak and kept pulling on it" protested Jason, bringing a hand up to his head to rub over the streak. "Sometimes I can still feel the pain of it"

"And yet, you still love her" that was true, Jason loved his niece to death. "She will love to meet Catherine"

"She will" Barbara added, before smirking at everyone and pointing her head towards Bruce. "But it seems grandpa Bruce has already fallen in love with her"

It was only a matter of seconds until Bruce noticed the four pairs of eyes on him and decided to look up. Catherine was now sound asleep, snuggled against Bruce's chest, his arms holding her tight.

"What?" was all he said upon the sudden interest on him.

"Nothing" replied Jason, a discreet smile taking place upon his lips, with a quick pause before he continued speaking. "She likes you"

The older man smiled. There was nothing like the feeling of a child's love being reciprocate. Bruce had only known of her existence for less than an hour, but he had already swore himself that he would do anything to protect her, the same way he had done with Mar'i. A blessing bigger than his sons and daughter was definitely his grandchildren, and Bruce would do anything it took to give them everything they needed, along with this love. He swore he wouldn't mess this up. Not like he once did with Catherine's father.

"I like her too" said Bruce, reaching his hand to gently stroke her cheek with his finger, but being stopped right away by the baby's grip around his finger, bringing tears of joy to the rim of his eyes.


	2. 2: lullaby baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catherine has been having trouble sleeping lately, so Artemis steps in one night and decides to make her fall back asleep in an unusual way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another short story that i managed to type out while i work on a long multichapter jaytemis story that i have been working on for months ,, i headcanon that artemis has a lovely voice but no one has ever heard it... until now hehe so i wrote this
> 
> and don't forget: leave your requests below and i'll gladly write them! i need a little inspo to continue these, so feel free to suggest something
> 
> enjoy it!

"She's finally asleep" whispered Jason as he stepped into the room, carefully closing the door behind him not to make any noise.

"Thank the Goddesses" replied Artemis after discarding the towel in her hair and dropping her body over the mattress. "I am exhausted"

"I know" the man added as he joined her in bed. "I could sleep for a whole week straight if nothing woke me up"

"Too bad that won't be the case" she said, adjusting herself against Jason's body under the covers to get comfortable, her eyes closing shut immediately after that. "So just enjoy it while you can"

Throwing an arm over Artemis' back, Jason couldn't help but finally let his eyes shut close as well, and in a matter of seconds, they were both sound asleep. The young couple had been extremely exhausted for the past few days, and the reason for that was a young baby named Catherine.

Catherine had always been a very quiet baby, and she was finally starting to sleep more through the night, but this week had been terrible: the girl had started teething. So, as a result, Jason and Artemis have lost a few hours of sleep during the past few nights due to her cries of pain. 

Artemis could swear she had only closed her eyes for five minutes when she was woken up by a loud sharp cry from her daughter next door. A sigh was heard beside her.

"I'll go" said Jason with a sleepy voice while he began to get up from bed.

"No, I'll go" said Artemis, stopping him by placing a hand on his chest and softly pushing him back down against the mattress. "It's my turn. You get some rest"

"Thanks Red" Jason said before he was, in a matter of seconds, asleep once again.

Getting up from the bed, Artemis realized how chilly that night was in Gotham City and reached out for her robe, throwing it on while making her way out of the bedroom.

Stepping inside the nursery, Artemis quickly bent over the crib to take Catherine into her arms, gently shushing her while caressing her side.

"Shhhh, calm down sweetheart" she whispered while reaching for the teething ring and placing it in Catherine's mouth. "I know it hurts, but you're a strong girl"

After a while of chewing on it, the cold started to make its effect and Catherine could - finally - no longer be heard crying.

Artemis was so relieved when she heard her cries ceasing. Although she might not admit it to many people, it pained her every time she heard her baby cry, even if she knew these things were normal and every baby went through them. But Artemis was still a mother after all - a very proud one -, and some instincts couldn't be changed.

She decided to take a seat on the armchair placed next to the crib, still holding Catherine and admiring her every feature. Catherine was just holding the ring with her tiny hands while happily chewing on it, all while curiously looking up at Artemis with her blue eyes - ones she got from her father, and what beautiful eyes they were! -, not showing any signs of going back to sleep anytime soon.

"What is the matter, baby? You're not sleepy?" asked Artemis in a soft tone, adjusting the little girl in her arms.

Knowing there was only one way to put her back to sleep, Artemis adjusted the blanket around Catherine and smiled down at her.

"Don't worry, mommy will sing you to sleep" she whispered. "But that will be our secret, alright?"

Little did Artemis know, it wouldn't be just their secret.

About five minutes after Artemis got out of bed, Jason was awake once again, noticing the cold that was on that night. The man has always had trouble sleeping alone, even since he was a kid - not that he would ever admit that, Jason would just hide it, he couldn't depend on anyone to sleep peacefully forever -, but now that he was accustomed to sleeping next to Artemis, not having her by his side made it almost impossible to sleep again, specially with the cold. So, he decided to get out of bed and join his girls. At least there he could get some warmth by hugging them before the couple could return to bed.

Jason had already opened the door slightly when he heard Artemis speak to Catherine, which made him stop in his tracks. Artemis sings?!, he thought.

A few seconds later, a melodious voice was heard belting a soft harmony through the room, and Jason was amazed. Never had he - or anyone - heard her sing, and never had he ever imagined she would sing this good. It was hypnotizing, like a siren hunting a sailor.

The lullaby worked gracefully, as Jason could see the little girl's eyes slowly closing shut throughout the song her mother sang, while gently rocking her. 

When Catherine had finally fallen asleep, Jason watched Artemis place a gentle kiss on the girl's forehead, before getting up and placing her back on her crib, properly tucked in under the warm blankets. It was then that Jason decided to head back to their room and wait for her in bed.

Little did Artemis know, her secret of two was now a secret of three that Jason would never tell... but that he was glad to have experienced.


	3. 3: breaking news

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason and Artemis are trying to keep their little family on the low down, but the news slowly start spreading until suddenly everyone knows about "Batman's new granddaughter".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry for taking so long to update this everyone, but college and anxiety have been kicking my ass and as a reward, i was left with no time for writing
> 
> this was a request made by @IceColdFanta ,, i'm sorry it is so short and so rushed, but i really didn't know what to write and my writing is a bit rusty, so i hope you still enjoy it. gonna work on some more requests for now, see ya ,,

It wasn't very often that Diana set foot in Gotham City. Bruce wasn't a fan of having other heroes somewhat invading his "territory", but today she hadn't come here as Wonder Woman, but as Diana Prince, for mere business purposes and to spend some time visiting friends - including Bruce and the rest of the clan.

It wasn't also very often that the warm sun decided to shine in Gotham City, replacing the usual dark clouds with a nice sunny day, a warming kiss of the sun rays against one's skin. But Diana was lucky, and since the sun decided to come out on her free day during that trip, the warrior princess decided she would take a relaxing walk through the park to clear her mind before going back to her duties.

It felt nice. The birds chirping in the background, the sound of the leaves swaying with the soft breeze, the laughter of the children running around and playing in the park while others simply enjoyed the company of their loved ones while lying down under the shade of a big tree. She looked up at the clear sky, enjoying the light hitting her face as she silently identified shapes in the rare clouds drifting by.

There were so many colors. Very unusual in a place where everything is always so dark, including people's souls. But right there, Gotham City looked like another complete different place. It was all so bright, so colorful. Like a rainbow.

And as her eyes looked around, enjoying the provided sensations of the environment, Diana could make out a sudden blotch of red. Could it be...?

No, it couldn't be; it had to be her. It was way too recognizable. That was Artemis, walking just a few metres away from her. But she wasn't alone, and Diana easily recognized the figure next to her to be Jason Todd, holding a leash as Dog walked next to him - Diana could recognize that adorable pet miles away!

The princess decided to catch up on her pace to approach the young couple. It had been a long while since she had least heard - or even seen - of them, so there was their chance to catch up on the past few months. 

"Hello, you two" Diana greeted with a smile on her face, as she got close enough behind the couple for them to hear her. "It has been a long time! How have you been?"

Stopping on their tracks, Jason and Artemis turned around to face the princess, only for her to be taken back by the child in the redhead woman's arms. There was an obvious surprised look on her face. The baby was definitely their child, no bothering to even try to deny it.

"Diana, it's been a while, indeed" Artemis replied back with a soft smile, adjusting the baby in her arms. "We've been alright, how about you?"

"I've been doing great, thanks for asking" replied Diana, still not taking her eyes off of the little redhead baby being held against the woman's chest. "Is that... You two had a baby?"

"Yeah... It's a long story" spoke Jason, scratching the back of his head. "Her name is Catherine"

"She is so beautiful" escaped Diana's lips while she admired the beauty of the half asleep child.

It was apparent that Catherine was a few months old already, besides her very tiny size, but the young girl was adorable. Diana's love for babies and children was no secret, she was always so fond of them and their innocence, so she couldn't be anything but happy to meet the miniature redhead.

"Thank you. She really is" a huge grin appeared on Artemis' lips as she took a moment to glance down at her baby girl. "Would you like to hold her?" 

"I-... Of course!" 

Carefully taking Catherine into her arms, the princess couldn't hold back the huge grin plastered on her face. The tiny hand immediately reached for the dark curls hanging loose from Diana's head and gently tugged on it, just like she used to do with her mother's long red hair.

"It is certain we haven't seen each other in a long time, but I definitely wasn't expecting to hear you two had become parents" Diana spoke. "I am, however, truly happy for you and I wish you all the best"

"Well, in our defense, we weren't expecting it either" added Jason. "But thank you, Diana. That means a lot"

Looking back down at the little girl in her arms, Diana could see a bright future in Catherine's eyes, who were now attentively staring at her. There was no doubt her parents would do anything in this world for her.

\------

"Bruce" greeted Diana when entering the room the man stood in, dressed up in his bag uniform and working on something, as always. "I've heard the news. Congratulations on you new granddaughter"

"You know?" he looked up from the task in his hands, looking at the armoured Amazon standing in front of him.

"Yes, I came across Jason and Artemis at the park yesterday, and they so happened to be taking Catherine for a little walk" she couldn't help but smile when thinking of the young girl. "She really is beautiful, congratulations grandpa"

"She is, isn't she?" a slight smile immediately appeared on Bruce's face, his granddaughters were his weakest spot, he would always be proud of them.

\------

"Batman has another granddaughter?!" the surprised words escaped Superman's mouth faster than he could process them, accidentally informing the whole Justice League of the news.

Sometimes, Clark couldn't just turn his super hearing off, and this time surprise got the best of him. He didn't remember Bruce mentioning anything about anyone being pregnant, and while he was super strict with keeping his personal life secret, it was hard for him to not show how much he loved Mar'i. The young girl was the most precious thing in his life and everyone knew it, so it was only natural that this surprised him.

Taking a look around, he found everyone in the room staring at him, both shocked and surprised like him.

Oops!...

Maybe he had just revealed something that was supposed to stay secret - at least for maybe a little longer. However, it wouldn't last too long, soon everyone would be hearing about this lovely granddaughter of his. The only thing left for everyone to discover is how did that happen and who the little girl is.

Looks like a new scavenger hunt would go up in the office very soon...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what you think, and feel free to request a prompt/scenario for me to write in the comments ,, :)


	4. 4: hush, princess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Artemis notices there's something oddly wrong going on with Catherine, and there is only one place in the world they can head to to help her: Bana-Mighdall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow, i wasn't planning to write this one for so long but then inspo struck me and suddenly i was even writing during an online class lmao ,,
> 
> anyways, this is my request for zry, and i would very much like to thank her and eri's (@yawning_inF) help with the amazons - thank you eri for letting me borrow your oc for this
> 
> so anyways ,, without further do, enjoy it and feel free to drop your requests down below!

"There's something wrong with her" Artemis said while holding the tiny child in her arms. "I have to do something"

Jason had never been this worried in his life - well, maybe except during Catherine's birth -, but worse than that: he had never seen Artemis this worried.

He knew his daughter was an Amazon, that she wasn't just a regular girl, but he thought that would include not having his kid go through the usual sickness that every little kid went through. Turns out it's not true.

Artemis noticed it right away. Catherine had always been a quiet baby, but lately she had been exceptionally calm, way too calm, and to worsen it, she hadn't been eating since yesterday. It wasn't normal, and if Catherine was sick then there had to be something very wrong with the girl. Something a regular hospital couldn't help with - and it was already a miracle that they could hide from them that Artemis and Catherine were actually Amazons during the birth.

"What are we going to do, Red?!" Jason was super worried.

"I have no choice Jason, I don't know what is going on with her" he could swear there were tears pooling at the rim of her eyes. "I have to take her to Bana-Mighdall. My sisters can help her"

She held Catherine closer to her than ever before, not letting her eyes dart from her sight in case something happened, she didn't want to let her baby girl go. Artemis was silently suffering. She knew something had to be wrong with their baby, an Amazon didn't just catch the flu or any other light sickness from the man's world.

"Of course, if that's what it takes to take care of our pumpkin" Jason carefully approaches them, wrapping his arms around the two women. "It will be alright, don't worry Red"

Artemis leaned into his embrace, letting a single tear silently stream down her face. She knew he was as terrified as she was: they dived head first into parenting, without any previous warnings, and now they could only do what they thought was the best for Catherine as things went on. But that fear was constant, it would always be there, and some times more than others it would make the young couple afraid. This was one of them.

Now they could just hope Artemis' sisters could help her out.

\------

The days in Bana-Mighdall were stressful, to say the least. 

As an exception, Jason was allowed to go and stay with his girls. No one could say no when they saw the desperation in their eyes. Their baby girl, the thing they cherished and loved the most was suffering, and there was nothing they could do. Gladly, some of Artemis' sisters found a way to help Catherine out.

Two days of treatment had never seen to go slower for both Jason and Artemis, but they never left their baby's side. They needed to be there for her, in case something unexpected happened. All they needed was for their little pumpkin to get better so that they could take her back home.

In the morning of the third day, Andromeda, the young woman who was treating Catherine, turned to them with a smile on her face after checking on the girl.

"Just like I suspected" Andromeda began speaking. "Your daughter was undeveloped at the time of her birth, and that brings some implications, even for an Amazon baby. But gladly, you brought her in time for us to help her"

"So, Catherine's alright?" Jason was immediate to ask.

"Yes, your daughter is fine" she replied. "You would be shocked how common it is to happen, some cannot be saved, sadly. But this is not the case"

Artemis was immediate to rush to the crib where Catherine was laying down, carefully taking her in her arms and letting the stress of the past few days fall down her face in the form of tears. Jason followed right after, wrapping his arms around Artemis' waist and resting his head over her shoulder, his eyes not looking away from Catherine for even a second.

"Thank you, sister" Artemis said, finally looking up to face the Amazon. "No words can describe how grateful I am for your and all of our sisters' help"

"Catherine is one of our own, even if her place is in man's world. We will always be available for her" she replied. "Plus, it was a pleasure to meet her, even if under such circumstances. You two have created such a beautiful warrior"

Somehow, Catherine always charmed everyone around her. Andromeda couldn't take her eyes off of the little girl, there was no denying how stunning she was. 

"Artemis?" she asked after a little while.

"Yes, Andromeda?"

"You said Catherine was a surprise, like a miracle to you..." she said, her eyes slowly drifting to the corner of the room. "Have you ever wondered if she could be a gift from above, destined for a greater good?"

Following Andromeda's gaze, the couple found a black cat standing in the corner of the room, and Artemis immediately understood what her sister meant. Bastet, the Goddess of Motherhood, standing there in the form of a charming dark feline.

"Bastet" the sacred name escaped Artemis' lips in a low tone, more like a whisper, and in a matter of seconds the cat was nowhere to be seen.

"Bastet? As in...?" Jason asked, and a simple nod from Artemis confirmed his thought.

Jason didn't know very much about Artemis' culture but he found it very fascinating and was always eager to know more about it. So, after a lot of insisting from his part, Artemis had began sharing more about her homeland and their customs, so Jason could say that he knew fairly enough to come to Bana-Mighdall and not risk embarrassing himself by accident.

"I see a bright future ahead of your daughter" said Andromeda.

"Yes" Artemis added, taking another look at the girl in her arms and not being able to hold back a smile. "I see it too, sister"

\------

Everyone was excited to meet Catherine. It wasn't very often that Artemis visited, but when she did, many were excited to hear about her stories and adventures in man's world. But this time they were even more excited, since she was bringing someone new with her - one of their own, but born in another world.

The young couple received many congratulations on their way, greeting Artemis' long missed sisters who were excited to see the young Amazon everyone was talking about. They couldn't have a single minute of peace. Not until they reached their destination.

Artemis stepped into the arena, walking down the steps with Jason following right behind. Choosing a row in the middle, she took a seat over the cold hard stone, adjusting the baby in her arms. Jason followed her, taking a seat by her side.

He let her have her minute of silence. Jason noticed the look on her face, how she seemed to be taking it all in while she admired the place, while he was left to wonder why an abandoned arena seemed to mean so much to her.

"Are you going to tell me why we're here, Princess?" he carefully asked after a while, gently taking her free hand in his and intertwining their fingers. "Why this place in specific? What does it mean to you?"

"Well, I-..." she began, but it seemed like something was holding her back. "This place means a lot to me. It is where my most cherished memories in Bana-Mighdall are stored. It's where they took place"

"Look, Ar..." he turned in his seat to look at her, now wrapping her hand in both of his for comfort. "If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine, you don't have to. I completely understand"

"No, Jason, it's alright" replied Artemis. "It's time I told you. You shared your story with me, now it's my turn"

Taking a deep breath and looking ahead of her, Artemis began her story.

"When I was just a young girl, my mother would take me here whenever she could. It was our secret little place, a hideaway" she began. "It had always been me and her, just the two of us since the very beginning, but I couldn't say I hated it. I loved my mother more than anything in this world. She always put me first, she had great faith in me. I remember how mother talked to me every night before we slept, telling me that I would be their warrior, that I was born to be a champion"

"Life was so easy back then and I had no idea..." continued Artemis. "This arena had been abandoned for a while then and not many of our sisters cared to come here - looks like they still don't -, so mother thought it would be a great spot for us to hang out. She trained me, teatched me how to fight, how to be an independent woman and stand up for myself, but most of all, she loved me"

"I remember laying down on the center of the arena in her arms on starry nights, stargazing for hours while she told me all about our people's greatest adventures and achievements, until we eventually fell asleep" the memory triggered a light smile that appeared on the redhead's lips. "Some nights, if I focus hard enough, I can still feel her fingers running through my hair"

"That sounds amazing" intervened Jason.

"It was amazing" she squeezed his hand lightly. "Until she was taken away from me, and then it wasn't amazing anymore"

"My mother grew ill very immediately" she added. "I never knew exactly why or how, I was too young and they refused to give me all of the information to supposedly "protect me", but I lost her faster than I could process what was really happening. That was my first heartbreak"

"Ar, babe... I'm so sorry to hear that" Jason spoke.

"Don't be, it wasn't your fault" she leaned her head to rest over his shoulder. "It's no one's fault, actually. But even if I didn't blame anyone else other than myself growing up, it really hurt me. That's why I never bothered asking for an explanation when I grew older. The void of feelings took so much control over my life that when I finally healed from the loss, I decided that it was better to close that chapter and never open the wound again. She was gone, it didn't matter what killed her, my mother would never be brought back"

Jason understood. He understood her more than anyone, and that was also part of the reason that lead Artemis to finally open up and vent out the weight on her shoulders.

"Did you and your mother look alike?" the man asked, out of nowhere, in hopes to lighten up the mood a little.

"Everyone has always said I am a carbon copy of my mother" she replied. "Except for the slightly darker skin tone, which I seemingly got from my mysterious and unknown father"

The two let out a soft giggle, feeling the warming rays of the setting sun heat their skin and lighten the mood.

"My mother isn't the only reason I wanted to come in here" Artemis broke the silence. "Remember that night at the bar, when I told you about Akila?"

"Well, which part?" Jason smirked. "If I recall, you keep telling me about how drunk I was that night and how much of a lightweight I am"

"Oh, shut up Jason" he knew that eye roll would be accompanied by a playful punch on his arm if Artemis' arms weren't so busy cradling a peacefully asleep Catherine. "Remember me talking about training in an abandoned arena?"

"I think I recall-..." he stopped mid sentence. "Wait, is this the infamous arena?"

"Yes, it is" she said. "I shared my secret spot with her, and then it became our favorite place to hang out. It became our secret little place back then."

"But then, lucky me, I lost her as well" continued Artemis. "And that was my second heartbreak"

"And if it depends on me, I will make sure you won't even reach the third one, Red" taking her face in both of his hands, Jason gently turned her head around so that he could face her, looking her directly in the eyes.

"Thank you, Jason" she rested her forehead against his, taking a quick second to close her eyes and take it all in. "It means a lot. Both what you said and the fact that you sat here with me, willing to listen"

"You did the same for me, princess" he smiled. "Now it was my turn"

A subtle noise and squirm in Artemis' arms made the young couple look down, only to find Catherine awake, looking attentively at her parents with her shiny blue green eyes.

"Look, pumpkin's finally awake" he pointed out, reaching his hand down to gently scratch over her belly.

The young girl grined at the gesture, kicking around and reaching with her tiny hands to try her best to grab her father's fingers.

"She's a gift from the Goddesses" Artemis spoke.

"That explains a lot" he replied. "Looks like I have to thank them then. I couldn't have asked for a better gift"

"And I couldn't have asked for a better person than you, Ar" Jason said, looking her in the eye. "They are proud of you princess, they have always been. I assure you. You're an incredible woman and an amazing mother, you don't need to be afraid. You're doing your job perfectly"

"...do you really mean that?" she looked back at him, a tiny hopeful smile on her face and a glimpse of tears threatening to show up.

"I do, Red" he smiled at her. "I do"

Jason knew of her insecurities about being a mother, as well as she knew about his, and he could see the doubt in her eyes and sense the need of comforting words, to assure her she wasn't screwing everything up. In fact, Artemis had been nothing but perfect to Catherine - and to him, but that might have been a little biased. There was no denying how in love they were with each other. 

Jason loved his mother more than anything, but there was no denying that her addiction affected many aspects of her parenting. But if he could say, Artemis was everything his mother was when she was clean: gentle, caring, loving... She was the mother he wished he could have had, if her body didn't ache for drugs harder than for the love of her son.

Within seconds, her lips were pressed against his, wrapping his into a warm loving kiss, savoring every second with their gentle touch. After parting their kiss, their foreheads remained together, the two sharing a comfortable silence, a moment of unspoken "I love you's" that each felt deep inside their hearts.

"Home?" Jason's low voice asked after a while, finally breaking the silence.

"Home" Artemis replied, with a smile on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what you thought, and make sure to leave your request for me to write :))


	5. 5: another redhead?!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catherine is finally home, and it's time for the Harpers to meet the new addition to their found family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> excuse me if this is not my best work, but i tried to write something decent ,, anyways, this is @Aiza_60 request, hope you enjoy it!
> 
> p.s. - i usually write my requests by order, but since the next request was about lian, mar'i and catherine's shenanigans, i figured it made more sense to write this one first ,,

"I can't believe, the minute I finally put Lian to sleep, you had to call me!" Roy "yelled" in a very passive way, almost whispering, to the male on the other side of the phone. "You better hope you didn't wake her up"

"Roy" was all Jason could say, and it was all it took for the redhead to understand whatever it was his best friend was calling him about, it was important.

"Jaybird?" closing the door to Lian's room behind him, Roy walked downstairs so that he could talk without risking waking the girl up. "What's going on?"

"I-..." he choked on his words, not really knowing what to tell him. "I have a daughter"

"You what?!" needless to say, Lian was awake again.

\------

"Wow..." peaking through the wooden bars of the small crib was Lian, admiring the peacefully asleep newborn with her wide eyes.

Lian was sure she had never such a tiny human being. Her brain was amazed at how small an actual baby could be.

"Well, Lian, meet Catherine" a smile was present on Jason's lips as he crouched next to her. "Your newest cousin"

She was so amazed at the peacefully sleeping girl that she didn't even bother to reply. Instead, Lian reached through the bars with her tiny arm, gently touching Catherine's soft hand.

"Carefully, Lian" warned Roy. "You don't want to wake her up"

Taking in her father's words, the toddler decided to gently poke her hand to see what her reaction would be. In just a few seconds, Catherine had her tiny hand wrapped around Lian's finger, making her jump up and down with excitement.

"Daddy!" she whispered excitedly to Roy. "She's holding me!"

"Seems like she likes you" answered Roy with a smile on his face, warmed by how quickly the two of them seemed to connect.

"I like her too" Lian replied before turning her face to the side to look at her uncle. "Uncle Jay, when can we play?"

"She's still very little, sweetheart" Jason told her softly, moving his hand to tuck a strand of jet black hair behind her ear. "Maybe you'll have to wait a little while longer before you can do that"

"But who will play Barbies with me now?" her lips formed an adorable pout and Jason almost couldn't resist it.

"You know what?" he whispered to her. "I heard your auntie is probably waking up from her nap around now, and she would love to play with you"

"Really?!" her eyes immediately lit up at the mention of Artemis, the momentary sadness of not being able to play with Catherine yet completely wiping away in a second. 

"Really" assured Jason.

"I'm going to play now" she said, rushing to where her father stood to take her backpack and leave, but not before approaching the crib once again. "See you soon, Catherine. One day you can play with us"

Reaching her hand to leave a soft and quick pat over the baby's tiny fist, Lian took another good look at Catherine and smiled before heading out of the room and making her way around the house, searching for her aunt.

"Are you sure Artemis is going to tag along with playing Barbies?" Roy joked as he approached his best friend by the crib. "I thought you shouldn't mess with an Amazon, much less break her out of her sleep. Even though you technically did mess with her"

"Oh, shut up, Roy" said Jason before delivering a playful punch to the redhead's upper arm. "Like you're one to talk"

"I'm pretty sure Artemis will be just fine. She has a hard shell, but there's nothing Lian can't convince her to do. One word and Artemis is all hers" he replied. "Plus, she would kill me for letting her sleep through your whole visit, even if she's exhausted"

"She wouldn't have any problem in doing so" Roy joked. "Well, Lian has been asking for a little brother or sister for a while now. At least Catherine will calm that down for a while"

"Got lucky, huh?" Jason smirked, elbowing his best friend. "You're welcome"

"She's beautiful, you know?" Roy said, breaking the sudden silence that fell between them after the joke. "You two did an amazing job, even if it was unexpected. And even if it's another redhead to add to your long list"

"Thanks Roy" replied Jason with a smile. "That means a lot"

"I know what you're going through, suddenly having a baby thrown in your arms and having to learn a million things from day to night" the redhead began. "It's not going to be easy. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, it's probably going to be the hardest task in your whole life, but I assure you it is all going to be worth it"

"It already is" looking down to admire his sleeping daughter, Jason couldn't hold back the gleam in his eye. "I don't think I have ever been this... in love"

"I know, Jaybird" he put his hand on his shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. "I know"

There, in an unspeakable moment of silence, the two best friends could find comfort, knowing they were going through the same. But everything would turn out okay. They would get through it.

"You know what? I was just thinking..." Roy broke the silence, speaking as he looked around to inspect the room recently turned into a nursery. "...this room needs some work"

"Yeah, don't even mention it" Jason sighed.

With only being able to bring Catherine home a few days ago, the couple spent some stressing weeks practically living in that hospital, refusing to abandon their baby girl until they were sure she was safe and healthy enough to bring her home. Recovery wasn't so easy for mother and daughter, so there was absolutely no time for them to worry about which color they would paint their walls or what crib would match better with the furniture. But now that they were finally home and adjusting, adding the pressure of a room renovation to the stress of learning how to parent from zero made Jason's head want to explode.

"Maybe you could use a pair of extra hands" suggested the redhead. "Well, I mean, pairs. There's no way I can convince Lian to stay out of this, she'll pursue you into having a rainbow colored nursery for Catherine for days"

"I'm sure she will" Jason giggled. "Thanks man, that would be amazing. I would love to have you two help us out"

"No need for thanking, Jaybird" replied Roy. "You were there for me when I needed the most, now it's my turn to return the favor"

"Besides, I don't think Lian will want to be away your house anytime soon, so better put our time here to good use" he added.

"At this point, she should just take the free guest room" Jason joked.

"And who says she hasn't already?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't forget to leave your requests and let me know what you thought of this one ,,

**Author's Note:**

> let me know what you think ,, also, leave your requests and i'll write them!


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